Post by west-texan on Dec 24, 2008 8:58:08 GMT -5
I'm also glad BSA is staying the way it is.....
This had the potential to seriously impact Amarillo....
www.amarillo.com/stories/122408/new_12113819.shtml
Home > News > Local News
Web-posted Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Baptist half of BSA to stay
BCS ends talks about possible sale to Christus
By David Pittman
david.pittman@amarillo.com
Many in Amarillo's medical community have criticized any sale of Baptist St. Anthony's, citing loss of local control of the hospital, BSA's profits leaving town and health services counter to Catholic doctrine.
The partners that jointly own Baptist St. Anthony's Health System have killed any further negotiations over the sale of the Baptist half of the multimillion-dollar operation.
"There was no one thing that dictated against this," said Steve Dalrymple, senior vice president and general counsel for Baptist Community Services, which owns half of BSA. "At the end of the process, we decided not to proceed further."
Baptist Community Services and Christus Health, an Irving-based Catholic health ministry, each own half of BSA and each appoint six members to the BSA board of trustees.
Baptist Community Services has been in discussions since the summer to sell its 50 percent stake to Christus, which owns roughly 50 major hospitals and nursing homes in eight states and Mexico.
The two sides Tuesday cited three reasons for the end of negotiations: the findings of a study that reviewed such a sale; community input, which was largely against the sale; and the "pronounced negative economic conditions of the country."
A potential sale, with an asking price that Baptist Community Services President Tim Holloway previously estimated would be in the tens of millions of dollars, was to include BSA Hospital, BSA Hospice, Harrington Cancer Center, Urgent Care Center, Family Medical Clinic, an ambulance service and other medical outlets in and around Amarillo.
Many in Amarillo's medical community have criticized any sale, citing loss of local control of the hospital, BSA's profits leaving town and jeopardizing reproductive health services that run counter to Catholic doctrine.
"Well over 95 percent of the physicians I've talked to were against the sale," said Miles Davis, president of the BSA Medical Executive Committee, which represents each department at the hospital. "We like it the way it is. It runs well the way it is."
Some doctors began circulating a petition against a sale that had from 150 to 200 signatures, Davis said, with many more willing to sign. He said they had planned to present the petition next year to the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
Dalrymple maintained the decision to end talks came after numerous discussions with Christus. He didn't specifically explain how dire economic conditions contributed to the decision to end negotiations, saying only that "these are very difficult times."
Baptist Community Services recently completed a review of BSA Health System's operations, finances and regulatory records to examine the sale's potential.
"The findings were very positive," Dalrymple said, adding the review didn't stop them from pursuing the sale.
He declined to reveal specifics of the review's findings, saying it was proprietary information.
"I don't think there was anything in there that surprised them," said Christus spokeswoman Linda McClung, who sits on BSA's 12-member board of trustees. "It was a business decision - that doesn't mean we're not open to that again in the future."
The latest financial numbers for the hospital show that, as of 2007, business was good. According to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the hospital last year took in about $845 million in patient revenue. After accounting for expenses, the hospital had a net income of more than $43 million.
BSA spokeswoman Mary Barlow, who said hospital administrators were informed Monday that negotiations had ended, said BSA officials weren't involved in the talks and declined further comment.
Baptist Community Services officials have said they're interested in focusing their attention more on long-term care for seniors. "That process is not going to stop just because our discussion of selling our membership interest has ceased," Dalrymple said.
The nonprofit owns Park Central Retirement Community, which provides a range of living options for seniors in Amarillo. It offers two 10-story independent living centers with a combined 242 apartments, a 60-unit assisted living center and a 187-bed nursing home.
"The need for these types of projects is still there and we'll continue on," Dalrymple said.
Holloway was out of town and unavailable for comment Tuesday. But he has previously said the U.S. isn't prepared for the wave of baby boomers on their way to nursing homes and other senior care facilities.
"There is a freight train coming your way, and it is going to be a train wreck the likes of which have never been seen before," Holloway said in an October interview.
Holloway's argument was not enough to persuade some Amarillo doctors, including the groups that run the hospital's emergency room, anesthesiology and radiology.
Physicians in the fall started a letter-writing campaign to the Baptist General Convention, BSA, Baptist Community Services and Christus board members opposing the sale.
There are multiple reasons for their opposition.
"Christus Health is obligated to certain medical policies established by the Catholic church," Amarillo radiologist Dr. Gayle Bickers wrote in a letter posted on the blog Keep BSA 50:50. "These include, but are not limited to, the forbidding of tubal ligation surgery."
Dr. Stephen Neumann, chairman and medical director for physicians who work in BSA's emergency room, wrote in a letter to Baptist officials on his experience with Northwest Texas Healthcare System, the Amarillo organization owned by a large chain based in King of Prussia, Pa. He voiced concern over the loss of a local board with final authority.
"Many of these decisions seemed to be made for the benefit of a whole system of hospitals, rather than being tailored to the needs of a specific hospital," Neumann wrote. "This significantly impaired the ability of the local institution to innovate, act strategically, or even respond to basic needs in a timely manner."
This had the potential to seriously impact Amarillo....
www.amarillo.com/stories/122408/new_12113819.shtml
Home > News > Local News
Web-posted Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Baptist half of BSA to stay
BCS ends talks about possible sale to Christus
By David Pittman
david.pittman@amarillo.com
Many in Amarillo's medical community have criticized any sale of Baptist St. Anthony's, citing loss of local control of the hospital, BSA's profits leaving town and health services counter to Catholic doctrine.
The partners that jointly own Baptist St. Anthony's Health System have killed any further negotiations over the sale of the Baptist half of the multimillion-dollar operation.
"There was no one thing that dictated against this," said Steve Dalrymple, senior vice president and general counsel for Baptist Community Services, which owns half of BSA. "At the end of the process, we decided not to proceed further."
Baptist Community Services and Christus Health, an Irving-based Catholic health ministry, each own half of BSA and each appoint six members to the BSA board of trustees.
Baptist Community Services has been in discussions since the summer to sell its 50 percent stake to Christus, which owns roughly 50 major hospitals and nursing homes in eight states and Mexico.
The two sides Tuesday cited three reasons for the end of negotiations: the findings of a study that reviewed such a sale; community input, which was largely against the sale; and the "pronounced negative economic conditions of the country."
A potential sale, with an asking price that Baptist Community Services President Tim Holloway previously estimated would be in the tens of millions of dollars, was to include BSA Hospital, BSA Hospice, Harrington Cancer Center, Urgent Care Center, Family Medical Clinic, an ambulance service and other medical outlets in and around Amarillo.
Many in Amarillo's medical community have criticized any sale, citing loss of local control of the hospital, BSA's profits leaving town and jeopardizing reproductive health services that run counter to Catholic doctrine.
"Well over 95 percent of the physicians I've talked to were against the sale," said Miles Davis, president of the BSA Medical Executive Committee, which represents each department at the hospital. "We like it the way it is. It runs well the way it is."
Some doctors began circulating a petition against a sale that had from 150 to 200 signatures, Davis said, with many more willing to sign. He said they had planned to present the petition next year to the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
Dalrymple maintained the decision to end talks came after numerous discussions with Christus. He didn't specifically explain how dire economic conditions contributed to the decision to end negotiations, saying only that "these are very difficult times."
Baptist Community Services recently completed a review of BSA Health System's operations, finances and regulatory records to examine the sale's potential.
"The findings were very positive," Dalrymple said, adding the review didn't stop them from pursuing the sale.
He declined to reveal specifics of the review's findings, saying it was proprietary information.
"I don't think there was anything in there that surprised them," said Christus spokeswoman Linda McClung, who sits on BSA's 12-member board of trustees. "It was a business decision - that doesn't mean we're not open to that again in the future."
The latest financial numbers for the hospital show that, as of 2007, business was good. According to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the hospital last year took in about $845 million in patient revenue. After accounting for expenses, the hospital had a net income of more than $43 million.
BSA spokeswoman Mary Barlow, who said hospital administrators were informed Monday that negotiations had ended, said BSA officials weren't involved in the talks and declined further comment.
Baptist Community Services officials have said they're interested in focusing their attention more on long-term care for seniors. "That process is not going to stop just because our discussion of selling our membership interest has ceased," Dalrymple said.
The nonprofit owns Park Central Retirement Community, which provides a range of living options for seniors in Amarillo. It offers two 10-story independent living centers with a combined 242 apartments, a 60-unit assisted living center and a 187-bed nursing home.
"The need for these types of projects is still there and we'll continue on," Dalrymple said.
Holloway was out of town and unavailable for comment Tuesday. But he has previously said the U.S. isn't prepared for the wave of baby boomers on their way to nursing homes and other senior care facilities.
"There is a freight train coming your way, and it is going to be a train wreck the likes of which have never been seen before," Holloway said in an October interview.
Holloway's argument was not enough to persuade some Amarillo doctors, including the groups that run the hospital's emergency room, anesthesiology and radiology.
Physicians in the fall started a letter-writing campaign to the Baptist General Convention, BSA, Baptist Community Services and Christus board members opposing the sale.
There are multiple reasons for their opposition.
"Christus Health is obligated to certain medical policies established by the Catholic church," Amarillo radiologist Dr. Gayle Bickers wrote in a letter posted on the blog Keep BSA 50:50. "These include, but are not limited to, the forbidding of tubal ligation surgery."
Dr. Stephen Neumann, chairman and medical director for physicians who work in BSA's emergency room, wrote in a letter to Baptist officials on his experience with Northwest Texas Healthcare System, the Amarillo organization owned by a large chain based in King of Prussia, Pa. He voiced concern over the loss of a local board with final authority.
"Many of these decisions seemed to be made for the benefit of a whole system of hospitals, rather than being tailored to the needs of a specific hospital," Neumann wrote. "This significantly impaired the ability of the local institution to innovate, act strategically, or even respond to basic needs in a timely manner."
